Guarding Qi is like guarding a city.
The crimson setting sun sank completely beneath the inky black outline of the mass grave, leaving only a menacing dark red streak on the horizon, like a wound that hadn't yet dried on the earth. A biting wind whipped up decaying leaves and dust, howling through the piles of bones and the crooked, broken tombstones, pouring its chilling cold and intense aura of death deep into Xiao Yuxuan's thin clothes, penetrating to his very bones.
He huddled beside the gnarled roots of the enormous, withered ancient locust tree, his back against the cold, rough trunk that seemed utterly lifeless. With each gust of cold wind, the dead branches emitted a teeth-grinding, bone-grinding groan. His body felt as if it had been hollowed out and then stuffed with cold lead, heavy and numb. The old arrow wounds under his ribs, the burns on his back, and the various evils within him—the sharpness of metal, the burning heat of fire, the filth of poison, the fear of terror—that had been forcibly suppressed by Xuanweizi but still stirred within him, did not subside in the extreme cold and exhaustion. Instead, they lay dormant deep within his meridians like frozen venomous snakes, bringing waves of tingling, numb, and throbbing pain that penetrated to the bone marrow and an even deeper chill.
He clutched the shattered piece of wood engraved with the words "Hanging Blade" tightly to his chest. The sharp edge of the wood dug deep into his palm, causing a sharp, stinging pain, yet strangely, it kept a faint sliver of clarity in his chaotic mind. Ji Zhai's resolute figure as he leaped off the command platform, the scene of carnage and metal shattering deep within the Craftsmen's Fortress, Xuan Wei Zi's soul-piercing question of "Passing on the torch after the fire is extinguished" or "Ashes left after the ashes"... like cold branding irons, they repeatedly seared his already exhausted soul.
The sword has fallen. Is the path to survival now at our feet?
But where does this path to survival lead? Is it hope? Or deeper despair?
Like this withered ancient locust tree, even though its gnarled roots are intertwined and it seems tough, its inside has long been rotten, just waiting for the last gust of wind to blow it away completely.
My gaze, unconsciously, almost greedily, fell once more upon the depths of the tangled, gnarled roots. Beneath the thick layer of decaying leaves and cold mud, that faint, trembling patch of tender green was almost indistinguishable in the fading twilight. Only through memory and the fleeting, cool, yet vibrant touch lingering on my fingertips could I confirm its existence.
Like the last firefly in the darkness.
Like the distant echo of that locust tree sapling in the blood-soaked mud of the Wei River.
How did it survive? In this land soaked in death? And how long could it live?
An overwhelming sense of grief and bewilderment, like a cold swamp, sank him deeper and deeper. His body heat was rapidly draining away, and his consciousness was beginning to blur. Just as he felt he was about to be completely swallowed by this desolate graveyard, merging with those nameless, withered bones—
If you can't guard your heart, then guard your Qi!
An old, hoarse voice with a strange rhythm rang out behind Xiao Yuxuan without warning, like a cold stone thrown into stagnant water!
Xiao Yuxuan jolted awake! His unfocused pupils suddenly contracted! He struggled, using all his strength, to turn his head!
Beneath the massive, gnarled roots of the withered ancient locust tree, a figure stood silently, as if emerging from the shadows. His faded, mud-stained indigo linen robe blended almost seamlessly into the darkness. It was Xuanweizi! He didn't hold the luminous pearl in his hand, yet his strange grey eyes gleamed in the dim light with a near-soul-piercing glimmer, like cold stars reflected in an ancient well, coldly watching Xiao Yuxuan huddled on the muddy ground.
“Ji Zhai guarded his heart, sacrificing himself for the cause; the fire in his heart has been extinguished.” Xuan Weizi’s voice was like the rubbing of withered leaves, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, yet each word struck Xiao Yuxuan’s heart like a hammer blow. “The flames of resentment in your heart are raging, your inner fortress has crumbled, like this mass grave, littered with corpses and filled with resentment! Trying to guard your heart is futile; you will only be devoured by it!”
He took a step forward, his gaunt figure appearing unusually tall in the twilight, radiating an invisible pressure. "Since the heart cannot be guarded, then let us settle for second best—guarding the Qi!"
“Qi?” Xiao Yuxuan’s voice was hoarse and dry, like a broken bellows.
"Qi is the foundation of life, the root of destiny." Xuanweizi's gaze, like a tangible icicle, pierced Xiao Yuxuan's weakened body. "Innate Qi is stored in the kidney water, warming the internal organs and circulating through the meridians, like the earth nurturing all things. Acquired Qi is generated from water and grains, nourishing the limbs and bones, like rivers nourishing fields. These two are the foundation of human life, and also the fundamental barrier against external evils and the elimination of internal strife!"
He paused, his grey eyes sweeping over Xiao Yuxuan's pale face, which was as white as paper, yet faintly tinged with a bluish-black hue: "You bear the sharp edge of battlefield combat, the fiery heat of burning fury, the miasma of sulfurous poison, and the chaotic energy of desperate fear! All these evils have converged and penetrated deep into your very being, like thousands of enemy troops breaching a city wall, burning, killing, looting, and wantonly destroying within you! Your inner fortress has already fallen, beyond saving. If you lose your Qi fortress as well, your internal organs will collapse, your meridians will sever, your life force will be cut off, and even a god could not save you!"
Xuanweizi's words were like the most precise scalpel, nakedly dissecting the chaotic and fatal state within Xiao Yuxuan's body! He felt as if his body had become a scorched wasteland ravaged by the enemy, his heart a fallen capital, and the faint flow of "Qi" that sustained his life was the last crumbling line of defense!
“Guarding Qi…how do I guard it?” Xiao Yuxuan managed to squeeze out a few words, his eyes filled with the faint light of a dying man grasping at a last straw.
Xuanweizi did not answer immediately. He slowly squatted down, his withered fingers flashing out like lightning, precisely pressing on Xiao Yuxuan's cold lower abdomen, dantian! The touch from his fingertips was deathly cold, like frozen earth, with only a faint, intermittent warmth remaining, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment!
"The Dantian Qi Sea is the root of Qi and the stem of life. It is like the granary, water source, and armory of a city!" Xuanweizi's voice suddenly became low and urgent, carrying an undeniable authority. "External evils invade the body, and internal troubles cause chaos, all wanting to destroy this foundation and sever your lifeline! Guarding Qi means that you must be like a general guarding a city, deploying troops and generals to firmly defend this important stronghold of 'Qi Sea'! Even if the outer city is completely destroyed and the street battles are fierce, as long as this 'Qi Sea' is not lost and the supply lines and water sources are not cut off, there is a glimmer of hope, and there is hope for a comeback!"
He pressed his finger down sharply! A stream of extremely faint yet incredibly pure Daoist Qi, carrying a warm and vital energy, flowed like a trickle into Xiao Yuxuan's dantian, which was as frozen as earth!
"Ugh!" Xiao Yuxuan's body trembled violently! An unprecedented, extremely subtle yet incredibly clear warm current, like the first ray of spring water thawing in early spring, quietly gushed out from the spot touched by Xuanweizi! This warm current was so weak it was almost negligible, yet it instantly dispelled the bone-chilling cold in his dantian! It traveled upstream with great difficulty along the long-dried, cracked meridians, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort wherever it passed, temporarily suppressing the deep-seated soreness, numbness, and swelling pain!
Is this... "Qi"?
This is the "Qi Sea" that must be defended at all costs?
In that instant of intense emotion and sensing that faint glimmer of life, the few streams of evil energy within Xiao Yuxuan's body, which had been temporarily suppressed, seemed to be provoked! Like venomous snakes and ferocious beasts awakened, they surged wildly once more! A sharp, metallic aura, like a thousand arrows piercing his heart, scorched his lungs with burning heat! A pervasive stench filled the air! Panic and terror overwhelmed his mind! A searing pain engulfed him instantly! He groaned, his body arching violently once more, cold sweat pouring down his face!
"Focus your mind on your dantian! Tongue against the roof of your mouth! Inhale through your nose... exhale through your mouth... slowly and deeply!" Xuanweizi's icy voice, like a stabilizing needle, pierced through the fog of excruciating pain and fiercely pierced into Xiao Yuxuan's chaotic sea of consciousness! "Let the external evils rage, let the waves crash! You shall remain unmoved! Your divine sense shall be like an anchor, firmly anchored to that warm spot in your dantian! Like a general guarding a city, sitting in the center, no matter how deafening the battle cries outside the city, I shall remain as immovable as a mountain! Regulate the 'qi' you can regulate, even if it's just a trace! Guard your dantian! Guard this lifeline! This is your last city! Your last fortress!"
The voice carried a strange, undeniable power! Xiao Yuxuan gritted his teeth in excruciating pain! Using all his remaining willpower, he endured the soul-tearing agony, desperately trying to gather his scattered divine sense! Like a dying soldier, he gripped his tattered shield and spear with his last strength, pinning himself firmly to the crumbling city wall!
Focus your mind on your dantian!
Divine thought is like an anchor!
Hold on to that tiny bit of warmth!
He forced himself to ignore the boundless pain brought by the rampant evil energy, focusing all his attention on the faint warmth awakened by Xuanweizi's true qi in his lower abdomen dantian! Following Xuanweizi's instructions, he painstakingly adjusted his breathing—each inhale felt like using all his strength to try to draw the cold air into his dantian; each exhale was incredibly slow and long, as if he wanted to slowly expel the rampant evil energy, pain, and the world-burning malevolent fire from his body!
The process was painful and slow. Every breath felt like dancing on a knife's edge. The "enemy" within him launched a frenzied counterattack, wave after wave of excruciating pain assaulting his already faltering will. Several times, he felt as if his spiritual consciousness was about to be completely shattered by the boundless pain, and the faint warmth in his dantian was about to be extinguished.
"Guard!" Xuanweizi's icy voice always rang out at crucial moments, like a heavy hammer, forcibly pulling him back from the brink of slumber! "When Qi dissipates, a person dies! Hold on! That is to hold on to the last foundation of your remaining life!"
Time passed amidst boundless pain and unwavering perseverance. After an unknown amount of time, when a faint glimmer of dawn finally appeared on the eastern horizon, Xiao Yuxuan was completely soaked in cold sweat and dew, as if he had been pulled from the water. He collapsed onto the cold, muddy ground, his body trembling uncontrollably from extreme exhaustion and persistent agony.
but!
That faint warm current in his dantian was still there!
Although still as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, it stubbornly and continuously radiated a warm power! Although those few evil energies still existed, and the intense pain from the conflict had not disappeared, they seemed to be temporarily blocked outside the "sea of qi" by an invisible dam! That violent and ferocious fire, which wanted to destroy everything in its path, was also forcibly suppressed in this difficult process of "guarding qi"!
He...held it!
We held the last line of defense! We protected this lifeline!
"Hmph, at least you haven't completely turned into a pile of dead flesh." Xuanweizi's icy voice rang out again, carrying a hint of... perhaps satisfaction? He stood up, his gaunt figure resembling a jagged mountain rock in the dim morning light. "Guarding Qi is not something that can be accomplished in a day. It is the foundation of one's existence, like a craftsman forging iron, requiring daily tempering and constant polishing. The city of the mind can be breached, but the city of Qi cannot be lost! Losing it means utter annihilation!"
He stopped looking at Xiao Yuxuan and turned his gaze to the increasingly bright morning light in the east. His voice lowered, carrying a desolate tone: "This place is not safe to stay. Qin's henchmen are scattered throughout the wilderness. If you want to live, follow me."
After Xuanweizi finished speaking, he turned around and, like the mountain mist merging into the morning fog, silently drifted away towards the vast and unknown wilderness beyond the mass grave, a wilderness edged with a faint gold by the morning glow.
Xiao Yuxuan struggled, using the last bit of strength he had regained to prop himself up. He took one last look at the cracks in the roots of the withered ancient locust tree—in the dim light of dawn, that patch of tender green seemed even clearer, glistening with dewdrops, trembling slightly and stubbornly in the cold morning breeze.
Guarding Qi... is like guarding a city...
Hold onto this vital part...
Only then...in the future...
He gritted his teeth, dragging his leaden legs, staggering step by step, following the direction in which Xuanweizi had disappeared, and walked into the vast mountains shrouded in morning light, yet still full of unknowns and dangers. Behind him, the withered bones and broken tombstones of the mass grave, along with the withered ancient locust tree, gradually blurred in the increasingly bright morning light.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
